Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions

Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety

By

William Stellin

Jan. 13, 2013 4:08 p.m. ET

The article in our December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean—"Retiring to the Open Sea"—prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.

What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?

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In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, R.I., came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it Jaywalker. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.

Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased Jaywalker, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.

People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather.

Did you travel with any other boats on your trans-Atlantic crossing? How many days did it take?

We sailed by ourselves, hardly ever seeing a ship or yacht of any sort while we were at sea. For those who want company, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers is a splendid way to cross in the safety of a large group.

Our first trip took 4½ days to Bermuda from Portsmouth, R.I., then 14 days to the Azores, and finally five days to Portugal.

The return trip started in the Canary Islands, ending in Barbados and took 16 days. That's a very fast transit. Normal times are about 20 to 21 days.

Can you talk more about your retirement finances before setting out?

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William Stellin

For many years, Judy and I prepared for retirement. We both have small pensions and Social Security supplemented by our own aggressive savings and investments. Cash flow from these sources has been adequate to continue our retirement lifestyle.

We have proved to our own satisfaction: If you can afford to maintain a home and a boat here in the U.S., the cost overseas is about the same.

The European Union restricts the length of stays in member countries. How did you comply with the rules and still manage to spend as much time as you did in the Mediterranean?

Neither Judy nor I remember ever worrying about any limit to our stay while we were in the EU. We often left the EU for travel—but many times we were there for more than 90 days.

No one ever asked us how long we had been aboard our boat or how long we had been in the EU. Plus arriving by boat avoided customs officials. Marinas were interested only in whether we were paying our bills.

A Swiss woman I met early on gave me this advice: Don't get in trouble, don't ask questions and keep your mouth shut. Fair enough; that's what we did. It seemed to work.

Croatia, Greece and the Turkish coast are among the best places to cruise. Italy (including Sicily and Sardinia) is our favorite for the people, food, history and antiquities.

Looking back, there probably isn't a single place we wouldn't return to. Even if we were initially turned off by a port, there was some redeeming quality we would discover.

Did family or friends join you at different points during your cruising?

We encouraged visitors, and several times we were tour guides to Rome, Naples, the Amalfi coast, Venice, Barcelona and some of the Greek isles.

Almost always our guests stayed in a hotel, which we arranged. This gave them and us more privacy and allowed them to explore a bit on their own.

Do you often see sailing spouses who didn't have previous experience but over time developed skills sufficient for safe blue-water sailing?

The majority of our sailing friends cruise as husband-and-wife teams. My guess is that they are comfortable in their respective roles on board and have divided the work and responsibility according to each person's ability.

Long passages hone individual skills because often only one person is on deck (the other is sleeping) and has the responsibility for the entire vessel.

Obviously, mutually developing a sailing lifestyle helps to make it work.

Where can I learn more about your travels? Did you keep a journal? Do you have additional photos?

Our daughter Kim helped with journal distribution through e-mails, and daughter-in-law Marcy encouraged compiling them into three self-published books at blurb.com/user/wstellin. (The e-book versions can be downloaded free on iPads, iPhones and iPods.)

What about safety? Did you have any problems with theft, pirates, crooked marinas, etc.?

We always felt safe at sea and on shore. Most European marinas are gated with 24-hour guards. Seldom did we lock the boat when we left for short periods during the day—and never while sleeping at night.

In March 2003, while we were berthing in a private yacht club in Venice, the Iraq war began. Immediately "PACE" (peace) flags appeared on every pole, balcony, bridge railing—anything high. Several street demonstrations erupted as well.

We always back Jaywalker into a slip, and our stern-mounted 3-by-5-foot American flag was very visible to passersby. So as not to cause any problems, I removed the flag.

A day or so later, a club member, Claudio, walked by and hollered, "Bill, where is your American flag?" I explained how I didn't want to cause any controversy at the club and it was stowed below.

He replied: "You put that flag back. I love that flag. It is the most beautiful flag in the world. You are the ones that gave us food and shoes and money to rebuild after the war."

Needless to say, I remounted the flag.

Despite political differences, we as individual Americans seem to be admired and liked—even loved—wherever we've been.

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